摘要
Introduction:Robotic systems are designed to address the limitations of laparoscopic surgery,leading to a growing interest in robotic rectal surgery.However,certain technical limitations associated with the previous systems(da Vinci S&Si)have arguably slowed down its wholesale adoption.The latest robotic platform,the da Vinci Xi,addresses these limitations.This study aims to examine the short-term surgical outcomes of 240 single-docking fully-robotic rectal cancer resections and compare the outcomes of cases performed with the da Vinci Xi vs Si systems.Materials and methods:All consecutive patients receiving robotic rectal cancer resections from three centres between 2013 and 2018 were identified from prospectively collated databases.The baseline characteristics and short-term surgical outcomes are presented and the da Vinci Xi vs Si system outcomes are analysed.Results:A total of 240 patients were identified(124 Si,116 Xi).Median operation-time and length-of-stay were 260 minutes and 6 days respectively.Conversion and 30-day mortality rates were 0.The da Vinci Si vs Xi system analysis shows that operation-time was lower in the Si group(230 vs 300 min,p=0.000)but length-of-stay,lymph node yield and circumferential resection margin favoured the Xi group(7 vs 5 days,p=0.010;17 vs 21,p=0.000;92.7%vs 99.1%,p=0.020).Conclusion:Single-docking fully-robotic rectal cancer surgery is safe,feasible and can lead to good shortterm outcomes,making it a good alternative to laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery.The new systems technological advances may result in better short-term outcomes but further larger scale observational studies are required if we are to reach such a conclusion.